The present application is related to French patent application number 00 02344, filed on Feb. 24, 2000, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector designed to accommodate a printed-circuit board and equipment having such a connector.
2. Discussion of the Background
Connectors are used, for example, in mobile telecommunication equipment, such as portable telephones. The connectors are permanently incorporated so that data transfer can be set up with an external information processing unit, such as a microcomputer, or to transfer electrical energy from a source of electrical energy to the equipment coupled to the external unit via the appropriate connector. Such a connector also allows an electrical connection to be made between a microphone in the mobile telecommunication equipment and the latter""s printed-circuit board.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,299 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,790 describe portable telephones including connectors of this type in which the microphone is arranged next to the set of contact terminals allowing an item of auxiliary equipment to be connected. The microphone and the set of terminals are thus aligned in a transverse direction of the telephone, that is to say along the width of the telephone. More precisely, the set of contact terminals and the microphone are arranged side by side along the width of the telephone""s printed-circuit board, this board extending along most of the length of the portable telephone. Furthermore, the set of connection terminals and the microphone are arranged on the same side of the printed-circuit board.
The current demands of consumers require that the dimensions of portable telephones be as small as possible. However, the presence in the connector of the microphone placed next to the set of connection terminals imposes minimum transverse dimensions on the portable telephone in the region where the connector is provided (i.e. at the base of the telephone).
The present invention provides a connector that can be used in a portable telephone and has reduced dimensions.
To this end, the present invention is a connector intended to accommodate a printed circuit board having electrically conductive metal strips on first and second opposite faces, characterized in that the body has a space for accommodating the board, the space being defined between the electrical connection areas of the first and second electrically conductive elements, so that the or each contact area of the or of each second electrically conductive element is in mechanical contact with a metal strip borne or supported by the second face of the board, and in that the microphone module is essentially arranged, with respect to the space for accommodating the board, on the same side as the or each contact area of the or of each second electrically conductive element.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a connector designed to accommodate a printed-circuit board having electrically conductive metal strips on first and second opposite faces. The connector has a body designed to be mounted on the board, and the body has a housing for accommodating a microphone module. The connector has a microphone module accommodated at least in part in the accommodation housing, and the microphone module has a microphone. The connector has at least one first electrically conductive element having, on the one hand, an area for electrical connection with a corresponding electrically conductive element of a complementary connector, and, on the other hand, an area for contact with a metal strip borne by the first face of the board. Furthermore, the connector has at least one second electrically conductive element having, on the one hand, an area for electrical connection with the microphone, and, on the other hand, an area for contact with a metal strip on the board.
According to specific embodiments, the connector has one or more of the following features:
the microphone module is arranged, at least in part, in line with the space for accommodating the board;
the accommodation housing is arranged in the body, so that the accommodation housing extends essentially facing the second face of the board when the board is plugged into the connector;
the or each electrical connection area of the or of each first electrically conductive element is arranged, within the body, in the continuation of the space for accommodating the board;
the or each second electrically conductive element is integrated in the microphone module, and the body has a passage for the or each second electrically conductive element, the passage connecting the housing for accommodating the microphone module to the space for accommodating the board;
the body and the microphone module have complementary means for holding the microphone module in a predetermined position within the accommodation housing;
the complementary means for holding the microphone module in a predetermined position have means for elastically engaging the microphone module in the accommodation housing; and
the microphone module has at least one casing which accommodates the microphone and comprises at least one channel for directing sound waves intended for the microphone.
The present invention further provides mobile telecommunication equipment, characterized in that the equipment has at least one casing, at least one printed-circuit board and at least one connector as described above. The board is plugged into the connector, and the casing has an access opening produced opposite the or each electrical connection area of the or of each first electrically conductive element, so that one or each electrically conductive element of a complementary connector is coupled to the first electrically conductive element or to at least some of the first electrically conductive elements of the connector.
According to a specific embodiment, the mobile equipment is a portable telephone.